The Other 1492: Ferdinand, Isabella, and the Making of an Empire (The Great Courses, 899) (Audiobook) (Repost)

This 12-lecture course uses 1492 as a focal point to follow events that enabled Spain to become a country, and then an empire. It examines centuries of developments that led up to that pivotal date in Spanish history, and analyzes the consequences of the events that took place in 1492, for both Spain and the New World. Presented by Professor Teofilo F. Ruiz, a foremost authority on Spanish history and an award-winning teacher and author, this course paints a portrait of 1492 as the centerpiece of the transformation of Spanish society by tying together several key themes: The rise of Castile as the strongest of the Spanish realms, and the reforms of Ferdinand and Isabella. The Catholic monarchs built a popular and stable monarchy in Castile-through such measures as new taxes, control of the military, and reform of the Church-that enabled Spain to emerge as the most powerful nation in Europe. The end of pluralism. For centuries, the Iberian Peninsula had been a multicultural mix of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Beginning with the Christian victory over Muslim forces at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and continuing with such developments as the conquest of Granada and the Edict of Expulsion, both in 1492, Muslims and Jews were either forced to convert to Christianity or sent into exile. The world of Christopher Columbus. Developments such as the recovery of classical knowledge of geography and astronomy, and new knowledge of maps and the use of the compass and astrolabe, enabled Columbus to set sail confidently across the Ocean Sea (Atlantic). Columbus's discoveries gave Spain a foothold in the Caribbean that it used to test colonial institutions, and to explore and conquer Mexico and Central America.